Indianapolis Colts sign RB Frank Gore

The Colts had a huge hole at running back. Trent Richardson didn’t pan out at all after the Colts traded a 1st round pick for him and was released this week. Ahmad Bradshaw is a free agent who has missed 25 games in the past 4 seasons combined and who was coming off of a broken ankle. Boom Herron flashed in limited action last season, but is unproven and has serious fumbling problems. That being said, the Colts will probably live to regret giving Frank Gore a 3-year, 12 million dollar deal and guaranteeing him 6.5 million of the 7.5 million he’s scheduled to make over the next 2 seasons.

Gore’s rushing yards rank 20th all-time and he could be bound for Canton. However, he’s also going into his age 32 season with 2442 carries. Of the top-25 all-time leading rushers who have played in the last decade and a half, the average one has his last 1000 yard season in his age 30 season at 2602 carrier carries. He might not have looked it last year, but he’s close to the end. This deal reminds me of when the Falcons signed an aging Steven Jackson two off-seasons ago. The Colts could easily feel the need to let Gore go next off-season, but they’d only save 1 million by doing that because they’ll still owe him 3 million dollars in guaranteed money either way.